Sunday, April 5, 2009

Freddy Krueger Cast in Nightmare on Elm Street Remake

We’ve known for quite some time that New Line Cinema is remaking A Nightmare on Elm Street, but the studio has been tight-lipped as to who will be playing supernatural child murderer Freddy Krueger in the franchise relaunch.

The 1984 original and its seven sequels all starred character actor Robert Englund as the undead serial killer. However, Variety reports that Watchmen’s Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) will be donning the striped shirt, tattered fedora and razor-fingered glove in the Platinum Dunes reboot, which begins shooting next month in Chicago. Samuel Bayer will direct.

While I’m certainly among those who grew up loving the Nightmare series, the movies themselves have never been as good as the ideas they revolve around. As the series progressed, the actual horror subsided while Freddy became a pop culture icon, making the movies less about genuine scares and more about creative kills and punny one-liners.

Because Englund is this character, it’s hard to imagine anyone else would be half as good. However, if they want to make Freddy scary again, Englund and his comedy schtick simply have to go. Haley, based on his unsettling performance as troubled crime-fighter Rorschach in Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation, could take these movies in a terrifying new direction.

Do I think we really need a Nightmare on Elm Street remake? Absolutely not. But the Platinum Dunes Friday the 13th reboot has grossed $65 million domestically since its February 13 release. We had to expect a glossy new Nightmare film to be right around the corner.

But hey, at least Hollywood is embracing the green movement—everything’s recycled!

About the Author

I'm a writer who openly admits that he enjoys the clicking of his own keyboard. On this blog you'll find pseudo-coherent ramblings about comic books, movies, video games, action figures and other frivolous things we all take way too seriously. Also, coffee.